Warriors are still special for Voss
ANYONE who’s spent time in the company of rugby league commentator Andrew Voss would know that he’s got plenty of great stories about the game.
He has an encyclopedic knowledge of league and knows how to tell a great yarn, so his new book, Stuff You May Have Missed is an entertaining and enjoyable read.
‘‘I’ve always liked writing and I’ve been described as a bit of a weirdo when it comes to rugby league,’’ Voss said.
‘‘Phil Gould has written a foreword of sorts for the book in which he describes me as that.
‘‘There are a lot of things that my mind has retained in terms of experiences I’ve had in rugby league, in the 30 years in the media and all the years following the game before that as a kid.
‘‘This is almost my retrospective diary of rugby league and I’ve picked out the best of the best.’’
One chapter that’s sure to get a lot of attention in New Zealand is his pick for the most memorable try ever. He chose the one scored by the Warriors a couple of years ago, when hooker Nathan Friend threw ‘that’ upside down pass, which led to a try by Tuimoala Lolohea.
‘‘The image of Nathan Friend being upside down is as fresh as if it happened five minutes ago,’’ he said.
‘‘I don’t know if there’s a movie in it, but I’d be disappointed if Nathan didn’t get some sort of TV commercial out of it somewhere down the track.
‘‘Not only is it a sensational try because of his pass, but there’s all of the other work involved in it, like Tui Lolohea finishing it and what Shaun Johnson and Sam Tomkins did too.
‘‘But it’s special because it was Nathan who did that pass, if you did a list of the last 1000 players to have played in the NRL, with the greatest respect, when you’re talking about agility and acrobatics, he’d be right down the bottom of that list.
‘‘He’s a champion fella and if this is what he’s remembered for the most, I’m sure he’ll take it in the right spirit.’’
Voss is one of the main commentators for Fox Sports in Australia, but he spent 2013 and 2014 working for Sky TV, calling every Warriors home game and he says he looks back fondly on those years. ‘‘I loved it,’’ he said
‘‘I likened working on rugby
‘ I likened working on rugby league in New Zealand, to being part of the French resistance in the second world war, because you’re up against this mighty force, rugby union. ’ ANDREW VOSS
league in New Zealand, to being part of the French resistance in the Second World War, because you’re up against this mighty force, rugby union.
‘‘The Warriors are such a rollercoaster side to call on a weekly basis and I had a ball.
‘‘Calling games where Shaun Johnson has been at his best has provided me with some of the most exciting moments of my commentating career.’’
While he doesn’t call Warriors games as much these days, he can understand the continual frustration their fans feel as the continue to disappoint.
‘‘When you compare the Warriors to the Broncos and Sharks, the Broncos and Sharks aren’t playing great football in a lot of their matches, but they’re finding ways to win,’’ he said.
‘‘This Warriors team looks great on paper, but they haven’t learnt a way to win when things aren’t going well.’’
* Stuff You May Have Missed is on sale from June 1.